Breaking the pressure, building up and scoring

Attract, evade and sting. Benfica used this formula in the plays that led to the three goals in their 1-3 win over Farense in the Last 16 of the Portuguese Cup.

Down in the 7th minute, Bruno Lage's team always stuck to their game plan in the search for a comeback and in the 2nd half the turnaround came, based on the quality of their ball movement, their ability to speed up the game and their coolness when it came to finishing the plays.

SCHJELDERUP'S GOAL

The play that culminated in 1-1 bears that stamp, with 11 passes in around 40 seconds and a superb individual move resulting in the equalizer. Building from the back, António Silva searched for width with a pass to Bah, who combined with Aursnes on the right, before returning the ball to the Eagles' No. 4. Faced with Farense's pressure, Benfica's central defenders, in a move that also involved Florentino and Bah, varied the flank twice until the ball arrived on the left, at Barreiro's feet. The midfielder then outpaced two opponents and opened up for Schjelderup, who made a diagonal run into the central corridor and shot, with the ball still hitting the bar before nestling in the net.

ARTHUR CABRAL'S GOAL

The 1-2 start came from a long (misdirected) Farense pass collected by António Silva in the Reds' half. The central defender played the ball out to Samuel Soares, who controlled it and immediately set up Álvaro Carreras on the left with a long pass. The Eagles' full-back collected the ball and sped down the flank, leaving three opponents behind at speed before playing a tense pass to Arthur Cabral, who, in turn, dropped to his right, received the ball and fired a cross into the back of the net. A three-pass play that took about 15 seconds to turn the game around.

BAH'S GOAL

Patient ball movement to break down Farense's pressure once again. The move started on António Silva's right foot, who played Otamendi in. The latter, faced with opposition from an opponent, played the ball back to Samuel Soares, who collected it and played a vertical pass to Arthur Cabral, leaving the teams on equal terms in the Algarve's midfield. The Brazilian striker played the ball to Bah, who combined with Aursnes on the right before playing Amdouni in. The No. 7, already inside the box, was tackled by Seruca, but the ball fell to Arthur Cabral, who dribbled a defender and shot for a Ricardo Velho's save. On the rebound, Bah got ahead of Tomás Ribeiro and shot to make it 1-3. In total, more than 20 touches from Benfica players in a play that stretched the game to around 26 seconds.